Charges against retired laboratory technician dropped

THE CHARGES of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl over the age of 13 but not yet 15 which had been brought against a retired man of New Montrose have been discontinued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

In a notice of Nolle Prosequi issued on June 29, 2022, DPP, Sejilla McDowall said the proceedings against Selwyn John “shall not continue and that he be accordingly discharged.”

John had appeared before the Serious Offences Court (SOC), on September 20, 2019 charged with having sexual intercourse with a minor of Rillan Hill. The girl had alleged that the incident occurred on September 29, 2017. During his court appearance, the retired laboratory technician had been granted bail in the sum of $8000 with one surety and made to surrender his travel documents.

Yesterday, defence attorney Kay Bacchus- Baptiste told SEARCHLIGHT she had appealed the decision of the Family Court not to allow an application she had filed, which sought to have the matter permanently stayed for abuse of process and delay.

“So we did our submissions in the … Family Court and the …[President] did not agree that it should be stayed permanently, so I appealed that decision.”

Bacchus-Baptiste said she considers there had been abuse of process and delay in the matter because when police first detained John, “after listening to his story, and listening to the girl, the police had told him ‘that is nonsense, there is nothing in it, so they were letting him go’.”

She said nothing happened for almost two years, but then in 2019, John was charged.

“So that is one of the main grounds for abuse of process, and then, the delay.”

Bacchus-Baptiste said after she filed her submissions in the Court of Appeal, the Office of the DPP was supposed to file theirs, but they did not. “They asked for time, the appeal court gave them extensions twice, but they did not file submissions,” the defence attorney said.

“I suspect it is because it was very difficult to answer my submissions. So what they did is call me and ask if they nolle prosequi, if I would withdraw my appeal. I said ‘Of course, if you nolle prosequi, I do not need to go ahead with the appeal’, so they nolle prosequied,” Bacchus-Baptiste said, adding that she is now in the process of withdrawing her appeal.

John, now in his 80s, told SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday that the last four years had been the most difficult of his life. He maintains that the accusations made against him were a complete fabrication.